In point of purchase displays in retail establishments, common sales aids are used directly at the points of purchase that are referred to as "shelf talkers". Traditional shelf talkers are face printed pressure sensitive adhesive labels with the adhesive exposed on the back when the liner is removed. This allows it to stick face down, often covering something below it, and covers valuable point of purchase areas (such as shelf edges) that may be better used for other sales information. Other conventional shelf talkers include a wide variety of non-pressure sensitive tags, placed in clips or behind other tags. Traditional shelf talkers are used on shelves, on display pegs, or the like. One known type of conventional shelf talker is called a "shelf wrap" and comprises a tag that clips in and wraps around and behind pegs or other shelving.
In retail establishments where there is very limited shelf space and a wide variety of products to be displayed for retail sales, prior art shelf talkers take up valuable area that might better be used with price, quantity, or like indicia. Also some conventional shelf talkers are cumbersome and time consuming to put up and take down, and in retail establishments where there is a high volume of traffic or constantly changing advertised specials, price reductions, or the like, shelf talkers sometimes need to be put up and taken down daily or weekly. Conventional cut-to-size card stock shelf wrap in particular is very cumbersome and time consuming, gets hard to see, and gets bent or sticks out at eye level due to the multitude of shelving, pallet, and peg configurations that it is forced to fit. Spending time with such tags takes away from time that sales representatives could better be spending interfacing with customers, stocking shelves, or the like.
According to the present invention a point of purchase label construction, particularly utilizable in a display assembly, and in a method of associating point of purchase indicia with a point of purchase display, is provided which has significant advantages compared to the prior art techniques. The label constructions, or "shelf talkers", according to the present invention allow the adhesive to face forward of where the relevant indicia is, so that they may be applied behind a shelf or a peg. They also allow for several other unique folding capabilities for those facings that do not conform entirely to conventional practice. The label constructions according to the present invention provide a high gloss face which has an attractive appearance, can be bent to fit any facing, are easily detached, have great eye appeal and selling appeal, a professional look, and most significantly are easier to use and less costly and time consuming to install than conventional shelf talkers. As a matter of fact utilizing label constructions according to the present invention a typical high volume retail establishment could be expected to save about two man hours of labor per week while at the same time providing a more effective point of purchase environment. The label constructions according to the present invention are associated with the backs of vertical shelving or peg surfaces where they do not compete with price or other labels, tags, or the like for space, yet at least as effectively get the point of purchase message associated therewith across as if they were on the front of the shelf or peg surfaces. The label constructions according to the invention also can be used in association with a vertical wall of a display rack.
According to one aspect of the present invention a point of purchase label construction is provided comprising the following components: A label face stock ply having first and second faces. An opaque release liner stock ply having first and second faces, the first face of the release liner ply having an adhesive release coating, and the second face of the release liner ply having first, point of purchase, indicia imaged thereon. A pressure sensitive adhesive between the adhesive release coating and the label face stock ply second face, releasably holding the plies together. And, a single line of weakness disposed in the release liner stock ply and separating the release liner stock into a first portion having the first indicia imaged thereon, and a second portion smaller than the first portion, and allowing ready removal of the second portion from the face stock ply to expose the adhesive on a portion of the face stock ply second face.
Typically the face stock ply first face is devoid of point of purchase indicia (although it may include instructional indicia to the installer, reorder information, or the like). Also the release liner ply second face second portion typically has indicia imaged thereon, such as the word "remove", indicating removal of the second portion in order to utilize the construction. The face stock ply may be of synthetic material, such as polypropylene, and the adhesive is preferably repositional adhesive, such as CLEANTAC.TM. adhesive used with repositional products of Moore U.S.A., Inc. of Lake Forest, Ill., or the adhesive used in the 3M POST-IT.RTM. products. The release liner ply may be bond paper, and the adhesive release coating a conventional silicone coating. The release liner ply typically has a fairly large weight so that it lays flatter during use, for example a weight of between about 85-100 (e.g. about 92) lbs. per 24.times.36 inch 500 sheet ream.
The label construction according to the present invention typically is supplied in an integral combination with a plurality of other label constructions in an 8 1/2.times.11 inch sheet, the label constructions separated from each other in the sheet by lines of weakness, such as conventional microperforations. For example between 12-20 label constructions (typically 15 or 18) are provided in a sheet. The sheet may also have removable marginal portions containing instructional indicia on the release liner ply second face, telling how to use the label constructions. Typically the label constructions have a quadrate configuration with width and length dimensions of roughly between 1.25-1.5 inches .times.2.75-3.5 inches, respectively.
According to another aspect of the present invention a display assembly is provided comprising the following components: A point of purchase label construction, comprising: A label face stock ply having first and second faces; an opaque release liner stock ply having first and second faces, the first face of the release liner ply having an adhesive release coating, and the second face of the release liner ply having first, point of purchase, indicia imaged thereon; a pressure sensitive adhesive between the adhesive release coating and the label face stock ply second face, releasably holding the plies together; and the face stock ply being larger than the release liner ply so that a portion of the adhesive is exposed on the face stock ply second face. A point of purchase display construction having a surface, and associated with a displayed item for purchase. And, the exposed adhesive in contact with the surface of the point of purchase display so that the point of purchase indicia is readily visible to one viewing an item displayed by the point of purchase display.
The point of purchase display construction may comprise a shelf, and the surface may comprise a back face of a vertical portion of the shelf, the shelf vertical portion also having a front face on which item price information indicia is displayed. The exposed adhesive may be in contact with the back face of the shelf vertical portion so that the label construction point of purchase indicia is viewable at the same time as the item price information indicia. Preferably the adhesive is repositional so that the label construction may be readily removed from contact with the shelf surface and positioned in another location. The release liner ply may have a quadrate construction with width and length dimensions of roughly 1 1/4 inches .times.3 1/2 inches, respectively, and the exposed adhesive area of the face stock ply may also have a quadrate construction with width and length dimensions of roughly 0.8 cm.times.3 1/2 inches.
Alternatively the point of purchase construction may comprise a peg having a price tag, with the surface remote from the peg price tag, such as back portion of the peg. As yet another alternative the point of purchase display construction may comprise a rack, and the surface a substantially vertical wall of the rack. In that case the face stock ply of the label construction is bent over so that the release liner ply second face is disposed about 180.degree. from the exposed adhesive portion of the face stock ply second face.
According to yet another aspect of the present invention a method of associating point of purchase indicia with a point of purchase display construction having a surface, and associated with a displayed item for purchase, is provided. The method utilizes a point of purchase label construction such as described above. The method comprises the steps of: (a) Separating the release liner ply at the line of weakness to expose the adhesive on a portion of the face stock ply second face. And, (b) pressing the exposed adhesive into contact with the surface of the point of purchase display construction so that the point of purchase indicia on the release liner second face is readily visible at the same time that the display item is viewed.
Where the point of purchase display construction comprises a shelf and the surface is a back face of a vertical portion of the shelf, step (b) is practiced by pressing the exposed adhesive into contact with the back face of the shelf vertical portion so that the label construction point of purchase indicia is viewable at the same time as the item price information indicia on the front face of the shelf vertical portion.
When the point of purchase display construction comprises a peg having a displayed item price tag, and the surface is remote from the peg price tag, step (b) is practiced by pressing the exposed adhesive into contact with the peg so that the label construction point of purchase indicia is viewable at the same time as the displayed item price tag.
Alternatively where the point of purchase display construction comprises a rack, and wherein the surface is a substantially vertical wall of the rack, step (b) is practiced by bending over the face stock ply of the label construction so that the release liner ply second face is disposed about 180.degree. from the exposed adhesive portion of the face stock ply second face.
It is the primary object of the present invention to provide an advantageous point of purchase label construction, that may be used in an advantageous display assembly and a method of associating point of purchase indicia with a display construction. This and other objects of the invention will become clear from an inspection of the detailed description of the invention, and from the appended claims.